Innholdsfortegnelse for Guitarist Annual (2024) i Guitarist

All things must pass, as George Harrison put it with the title of his 1970 solo album. Certainly it’s a thought all of us here at Guitarist have had ample reason to reflect on over the past year. On the glad side, we celebrated the milestone of our 500th issue going to press since the mag was launched in 1984. Turn to page 76 to hear reflections and reminiscences of Guitarist contributors old and new on nearly 40 amazing years of writing about guitars – it’s been an exciting journey. On a sadder note, we lost some giants of 20th century guitar this year, including the great Jeff Beck and Whitesnake’s Bernie Marsden. We salute them in the pages of this annual, taking a look at their lives in music…

During the course of their four-decade-plus career, U2 have been a daringly stubborn, forward-thinking lot, rarely repeating a proven formula, and constantly searching for the next big idea. Indeed, their momentum seems to have always been fuelled by an almost Bowie-esque need for experimentation. Sometimes the gambits paid off spectacularly (the rich Americana textures of The Joshua Treewere traded for Achtung Baby’s postmodern European art-rock); other times, not so much (the techno dance-heavy Pop ranks as their most under-appreciated effort). But in each case, the band made it clear they weren’t running to stand still, and whether they delighted their fans or occasionally mystified them, their true measure of success was guided by their indefatigable quest for change. And now they’ve really gone and done it. U2’s latest project –…

INTERVIEW If plucking a ripe plum from a tree had a sound, it would resemble Carol Kaye’s signature tone – a tone that made her a ‘first-call’ bassist in the highly competitive studio session world. It wasn’t just that, though. Kaye is arguably the first bassist to exploit the instrument in a truly melodic fashion, a nod perhaps to her early days as a jazz guitar prodigy. Her ability to invent memorable and influential bass and guitar parts on the spot in a high-pressure situation took her to – and kept her at – the very top of the studio scene and onto more than 10,000 recordings. Carol Kaye was born into a musical family in Washington state on the Pacific Northwest in 1935, with both parents professional musicians. In…

HISTORIC HARDWARE1959 Les Paul Standard Last year, an undocumented 1960 Les Paul Standard miraculously appeared from the West Midlands. When we interviewed Joe Bonamassa about his latest purchase, he assured us “these under-the-bed guitars are usually pristine. And they’re still around, you know.” Well, Joe called it right because another unknown ’Burst recently turned up at Vintage ‘n’ Rare Guitars in Bath. Life Partner Henry Sylvester Andrew was never a famous rock star, but throughout his life he remained a one-guitar guy. That guitar just happened to be the Les Paul Standard he had long admired through the window of his local guitar store, Barrie’s Music in Durban, South Africa. Knowing it was his dream guitar, Henry’s wife paid the deposit as a gift soon after their marriage in 1959.…

INTERVIEW Back in April 2022, the Red Hot Chili Peppers released Unlimited Love, their 12th studio effort and, more significantly, their first with John Frusciante, arguably their most fan-beloved guitarist, in more than 15 years. Given that, this time, the Chili Peppers entered the studio with a clutch of ideas and came out with not one but two new albums – and double albums at that, including the 17-track follow-up, Return Of The Dream Canteen – it can be surmised that Frusciante’s return has borne plenty of fresh creative fruit. As the band has headed out on the road to play the new music and the classics on stage, that renewal has only continued. Helping to fuel that renewal is, as always, John’s eclectic and characterful collection of vintage guitars…

INTERVIEW Kirk Hammett Kirk Hammett’s wiry, wah‑scorched lead tones have been a core component of Metallica’s sound since the band reshaped the landscape of metal in the early 80s. Now 60 years of age, Kirk’s youthful looks mask the fact that he’s been recording at the sharp end one of the world’s biggest acts for 40 years, after he replaced Dave Mustaine in the band in the spring of 1983. And though Metallica’s juggernaut touring and recording schedule has clearly made extraordinary demands on the band’s members, four decades of music‑making has also left Hammett with enough room to reflect on and evolve his sound far more than some might credit. You might think, for example, that he still builds his sound primarily around active pickups. But, as our free‑ranging…

FEATUREMemories Of 500 Issues JAMIE DICKSON (2011-PRESENT) “My first memory of Guitarist magazine comes from the day I bought my first guitar. I was 16 and I’d started working in a local gardening centre. I’d just received my first pay packet of £75 and I couldn’t decide what to spend it on; I thought either a Walkman or a guitar. So I walked into Morlings music shop in Lowestoft with my pay and walked out again with a Hohner Dreadnought – and that one decision changed the course of the rest of my life. The second thing I bought that day was a copy of Guitarist , so I could find out what to do with my new Hohner. I remember Slash was on the front cover and, digging around…

“I want it to be loud, a little out of control,” says Pete Thorn, in his urbane Los Angeles drawl. “There needs to be some feedback.” Even if you’ve never watched any of Pete’s highly regarded YouTube videos exploring the world of cutting-edge guitar gear, you’ve almost certainly heard his playing before. He’s been a first-call session and sideman for huge acts such as the Eagles, Chris Cornell and Alicia Keys. Now, however, he’s reflecting on what it takes to recreate rock’s greatest hits on stage without the music becoming too predictable or sanitised. “There’s got to be some balls…” agrees James Cole, with refreshing directness. James is Pete’s musical partner in the noble (and reassuringly loud) enterprise that is The Classic Rock Show. A veteran racing driver who has…

While bolt-on guitars go back to the early days of PRS, the John Mayer Silver Sky cracked the code. “The Silver Sky was a retooling of an historic device,” says Paul Reed Smith today. “It was a goal to get somebody incredibly comfortable with our instruments. This [the new MK and NF 53], on the other hand, is after a feel and sound in a different way. “We’ve been talking about it for a decade,” Paul reveals, “because our artists want that sound in their arsenal, but the thing that was not okay with me was the hum [from the single-coil pickups]. Very often with those instruments the hum can be louder than the guitar.” Myles Kennedy bought his first PRS in 1998, the red McCarty that he still uses…

BERNIE MARSDEN7 May 1951 – 24 August 2023 To the uninitiated, Bernie Marsden might have been easy to miss. In an industry of leather, motorbikes and top hats – and from a generation where ‘lead guitarist’ was shorthand for ‘show-off’ – the man once dubbed ‘British blues-rock’s secret weapon’ had the unstarry, affable, anecdote-ready demeanour of a pub regular. But as the guitar community well knows, there was much more to Marsden, who died at the age of 72 as this issue went to press. The myriad reasons to toast the great journeyman’s final flight span from the anthems he wrote (which included Whitesnake’s Here I Go Again) through to the young musicians he mentored, the sweetness of his touch and the treasures of his superb vintage guitar collection. Perhaps…

PIONEERS Rosetta Nubin was born on 20 March 1915 in Cotton Plant, Arkansas, a small town sandwiched between the Midwestern and Southern states. Both parents were cotton workers, although Rosetta didn’t know much of her father except that he sang in his spare time. Her mother, Katie, was deeply ensconced in the local church as both deaconess, vocalist and mandolinist. Clearly a child prodigy, by the age of six Rosetta was performing with her mother, singing and playing guitar under the name Little Rosetta Nubin as part of a travelling evangelical group. Even at this early stage Rosetta was spoken of as a formidable talent on the guitar. Throughout the 1920s, she further honed her skills after relocating with her mother to Chicago, performing in gospel music ensembles locally alongside…

When the guitar collection of a legendary guitarist goes on sale, it’s normally dominated by guitars that garner record sums. From electrics that were used on platinum-selling albums to vintage unobtainium, such auctions are generally composed of instruments that average guitarists can only dream of – partly because of their provenance and partly because rockstars tend to own vertiginously high-end equipment. The late Peter Green’s guitar collection is a more interesting proposition, however. Though it contains many highly sought-after instruments, it also reflects the tastes of a man who maintained a broad and unpretentious interest in guitars throughout his life. Some were played daily, while others were bought seemingly on a whim to form a collection of well over 100 instruments that includes many rare vintage guitars but also workaday…